Three-dimensional Anderson localization of light in dielectric disorder
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866911714377728000 |
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| author | Grynko, Yevgen Förstner, Jens |
| author_facet | Grynko, Yevgen Förstner, Jens |
| contents | Strong localization of light in three-dimensional disordered dielectric systems remains challenging to establish because it requires extremely strong recurrent scattering, while the long-lived localized contribution can be weak and masked by diffusive leakage or absorption in finite samples. Here we use large-scale time-domain simulations to solve the full-vector Maxwell problem and investigate dense random packings of high-index dielectric particles deep in the late-time regime. As the early diffusive component escapes, the transmitted signal develops a non-exponential tail and an effective diffusion coefficient that decreases toward localized scaling. The late-time spectra consist of narrow, well-separated resonances with sub-unity Thouless conductance and approximately Poissonian spacing statistics, indicating weak spectral overlap between long-lived modes. Simultaneously, the near field fragments into compact, non-propagating intensity clusters separated by persistent low-intensity channels. Cycle-averaged maps show that this dark-channel network remains correlated over many optical periods, revealing a quasi-stationary confinement pattern. Together, the dynamical, spectral and real-space signatures provide converging evidence for Anderson-localized vector electromagnetic modes in a disordered three-dimensional dielectric medium. This convergence shows localization as a self-organization of the late-time field into interference-separated, landscape-like modal basins. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_25098 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Three-dimensional Anderson localization of light in dielectric disorder Grynko, Yevgen Förstner, Jens Optics Computational Physics Strong localization of light in three-dimensional disordered dielectric systems remains challenging to establish because it requires extremely strong recurrent scattering, while the long-lived localized contribution can be weak and masked by diffusive leakage or absorption in finite samples. Here we use large-scale time-domain simulations to solve the full-vector Maxwell problem and investigate dense random packings of high-index dielectric particles deep in the late-time regime. As the early diffusive component escapes, the transmitted signal develops a non-exponential tail and an effective diffusion coefficient that decreases toward localized scaling. The late-time spectra consist of narrow, well-separated resonances with sub-unity Thouless conductance and approximately Poissonian spacing statistics, indicating weak spectral overlap between long-lived modes. Simultaneously, the near field fragments into compact, non-propagating intensity clusters separated by persistent low-intensity channels. Cycle-averaged maps show that this dark-channel network remains correlated over many optical periods, revealing a quasi-stationary confinement pattern. Together, the dynamical, spectral and real-space signatures provide converging evidence for Anderson-localized vector electromagnetic modes in a disordered three-dimensional dielectric medium. This convergence shows localization as a self-organization of the late-time field into interference-separated, landscape-like modal basins. |
| title | Three-dimensional Anderson localization of light in dielectric disorder |
| topic | Optics Computational Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.25098 |